love potion
by red wings like fire
Summary: She felt the stares of everyone on her, and she had to resist the urge of doing something incredibly embarrassing, like hide under the table, for instance, or cast a Stunner on herself just so she wouldn't have to endure the horror of having James Potter serenade her with a cheesy muggle song from nearly two decades ago in front of the whole bloody school.
1. Chapter 1

disclaimer: i do not own hp

* * *

Valeria tried very hard to concentrate. She really did. She stared at the yellowish pages and the tiny, almost illegible text with such intensity that she made her head hurt. It was a sad day, indeed, when Valeria Scott couldn't concentrate enough to absorb new information. But it was indeed, quite hard to concentrate when two bimbos were giggling and whispering to each other - most likely about her - just a couple of feet away from her. Didn't they know that the library was for studying? Seriously, there should be a label put on the door and possibly some sort of a repelling spell that didn't let idiots walk into the bloody library!

Valeria slammed her book shut when another wave a high-pitched giggling reached her and whirled around in her chair. The girls stopped giggling abruptly, their eyes widening in fright and possible embarrassment. Everyone knew that when Valeria was annoyed, she didn't hesitate to use her wand to get rid of the cause of her annoyance.

"Do you have something to tell me?" She hissed as she stood up and marched over to their table. Valeria greatly enjoyed her tall stature and superior height, especially when she got to apply it to intimidate people. She glared daggers at the two girls who looked quite uncomfortable confronted with her face to face. Valeria glanced at their house crests and snorted. _Hufflepuffs._ Figures. It they were from any other house, they wouldn't be nearly as silent and spineless. "Well?" She snapped impatiently. "I don't have all day, you know. I'm all ears. If you want to ask me something, please feel free."

"N-not really." The blonde girl muttered, glancing around nervously.

"Really?" Valeria asked sardonically. She pulled one of the chairs and the legs scraped across the floor loudly. She sat down and crossed both her legs and arms. "So you weren't talking about what happened last week, were you?"

The blonde girl bit her lip and shook her head meekly, but her friend seemed to be the bolder of the two, if just marginally, and spoke. "Everyone's talking about what happened last week."

Valeria smiled coldly. "They are, aren't they?" She snorted in disgust. "You people are so pathetic and disgusting." She stood up and tossed her hair behind her shoulder. "Why don't try talking about your lives, or lack thereof, instead of mine or someone else's? Maybe that would be a good change." She shot them another haughty look and walked back to her table. She shoved all of her stuff in her back and swung it over her shoulder. She didn't like feeling watched while she tried to something productive. Actually, she hated feeling watched, period.

She walked out of the library with her head held high, even though she knew she left dozen of whispering people behind her. She felt violated, knowing people were talking about her personal business. Normally she didn't mind being the center of attention, but she liked it to be for something positive, not about something downright humiliating. What she had to endure from Potter was enough, but the rest of the school wasn't making it easier on her. Someday she might snap and teach them all a lesson. She wouldn't write off the possibility.

"What is the antidote to every poison?"

The eagle greeted her with a riddle and she just had to roll her eyes at the simplicity of it.

"C'mon, that's just pathetic." She sighed. "There's no antidote to every poison."

"Simple, but true." The door swung open and Valeria climbed in. The sight of the common room always took her breath away. It was so classy and beautiful, and the view from the windows was gorgeous. She often sat on the windowsill to write her homework or simply read a book. She felt like she could see everything happening on the grounds from the high tower. Like there was nothing hidden from her eyes.

Currently the common room was too full for her to enjoy it, so she headed towards the spiral staircase leading to the dormitory. She glanced at the tall statue of their beautiful founding lady and bowed her head a fraction in respect, then pushed the door open and continued on her way up.

She opened the door of the dormitory and walked inside, dropping her bookbag on the floor beside her bed. She then flopped on her bed and buried her face in her pillow.

"Valeria, darling!" Dread settled deep within Valeria at the sound of the voice. She looked up slowly and came face to face with Patricia Fitzgerald, her blonde hair done in an old-style waves, her well-painted face accessorized with a sugary smile that oozed of pretension. "Where have you been all day? I've been looking _everywhere_ for you. My feet hurt now." She sat down on Valeria's bed without asking, and continued to smile in a way that made Valeria nearly homicidal with annoyance. "But no matter! James wanted me to tell you that he wants to meet you at the Astronomy Tower after dinner. Apparently, it's important." Her brown eyes sparkled with curiosity and she leaned forward, her long red-painted nails digging into Valerie's navy duvet. "Do you think he wants to talk about what happened last week?" Her eyes widened slightly as she said this, her eyes practically prodding Valeria for information.

Valeria shrugged. "I don't know and I don't want to know."

Patricia's eyes widened even more. "You mean you aren't going?" Her voice was high with disbelief now.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying." She laid her head back on her pillow. Dealing with Patricia was rather exhausting, but she didn't feel like telling her to sod off now. She'd been on odds with her best friend lately anyway, and she needed to interact with someone every now and then, even if it was Patricia Fitzgerald.

"Why not? He seemed really interested in seeing you! Maybe he fancies you!" Patricia's eyes got a faraway look. "What if he's been in love with you ever since he saw you and after last week, he finally got the courage to act on his feelings? You can't break the boy's heart like that, Valeria!" Patricia looked at her accusingly, brandishing a long-nailed finger in her face sternly.

Valeria looked at Patricia oddly. "I'm going to pretend this rubbish didn't come out of your mouth." She shook her head incredulously, and shot Patricia a slightly teasing smirk. "Have you been reading Clair's stash of Fifi LaFolle novels?" She asked gleefully.

If Patricia had put another layer of foundation, her embarrassed blush might have gone unnoticed. "You can't tell her." She hissed, looking around worriedly as if expecting Clair to jump out from behind one of the pillars. "She's never going to let me live it down."

Valeria snickered, earning herself a unimpressed look from Patricia. "Relax, I'm not going to tell." She said in a voice laced heavily with amusement. "But seriously - why?"

"I don't know." Patricia frowned. Valeria took the time to notice just how much makeup gathered in the small cracks on her forehead. Why did she feel the need to put on so much make-up? She wasn't ugly. Although now that Valeria thought about it, she had never seen Patricia without make up, except for those two years before third year when they all entered puberty and started freaking about how they looked to the opposite sex. But those didn't count, not really. And she hadn't paid all that much attention to her back then either. "I mean I know it's really bad and unrealistic but it kind of pulls you in, you know. Although the writing can be rather bad at times, it still keeps you interested, which is weird."

"Maybe the books are charmed." Valeria offered. "This is the only explanation for their baffling success."

"But that's illegal!" Patricia said, looking scandalized.

Valeria lifted an eyebrow cynically. "So?"

"Well," Patricia spluttered. "She could go to prison for that, and her publishing company as well."

Valeria rolled her eyes. "First of all, she's dead and second of all, her books were published by the biggest publishing company in Wizarding Britain. They're not going to get sued, besides that's only a theory, although a highly probable one."

"Right. Are you really not going, though? Aren't you curious what he has to say?"

Valeria knew very well what he wanted to say. He wanted to make fun of her some more. The past week he had corned her on more than one occasion just to relive one the most mortifying moments of her life. "No." She said out loud. "Not really."

"But I thought you liked him!" Patricia said, looking confused.

Something snapped inside Valeria. "I don't like him!" She spat. "I was drugged on love potion! Do you really think I'd actually do something like that? Frankly, it's embarrassing that neither of you can see the tall tell signs of love potion. You're supposed to be smart."

"Merlin, you don't need to bite my head off!" Patricia exclaimed, shooting Valeria a miffed look. "You don't like him, I get it." It was clear she didn't believe Valeria and that she was saying it only to appease her.

Valeria groaned. "Forget it. Can we just change the subject?"

"Of course. But if you ever need to talk to someone about your feelings, I'm here." Patricia looked sincere as she looked at Valeria, but she wasn't entirely sure in her pure intentions. She pursed her lips and nodded slowly. She didn't feel like fighting with her about it too. It only made her look like she was in denial.

Silence fell between them, and Valeria glanced awkwardly at Patricia. Thankfully, she was saved when the door opened and her best friend stormed inside. Valeria looked hopefully at her when she walked over to her bed, but Jane didn't grin or show any sign of ever being her best friend. "Practice in five minutes." She said gruffly to Valeria, glancing at Patricia, who was looking between them, hungry for drama. Valeria nodded glumly.

"Don't be late." Jane added. Valeria watched as Jane crossed the room and grabbed her broom from it was leaning against the wall next to her bed. After that, she left without a second glance in Valeria's direction.

"Well, I better get dressed." Valeria said to Patricia as she slid off her bed.

"I'll save you a seat on the table at dinner." Patricia said as she stood up and smiled at Valeria. The brown-haired girl nodded, not quite managing a smile. Patricia nodded once and left the dorm room as well.

Valeria sighed. She felt like flopping on her bed and sleeping off the rest of the day, but she knew Duncan wouldn't be happy if she didn't show up at practice again. With not much enthusiasm, Valeria changed into appropriate clothes for practice, grabbed her broom and headed off towards the pitch.

...

"Good job today, Scott." Duncan thumped her on the back and she flinched when her cold, sopping wet clothes slapped against her skin and clung on.

"Thanks." She said through gritted teeth, pushing away her wet locks with shaking hands.

"You should probably dry yourself!" He said with a cheery, oblivious grin. "See you at dinner, Scott!" He shouted over his shoulder as he left the changing room and slammed the door behind him.

"I didn't take my wand with me." She hissed her response, her hands curling into fists. A sudden draft from the open window invaded the room and Valeria shuddered violently. She grabbed her broom and hurriedly left the changing rooms. The corridors weren't that much better, but at least there was no wind blowing against her. She walked into the entrance hall, and headed towards the grand staircase when an arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"Don't you look dashing today, Scott." The infuriating voice of James Potter filled her ears and she looked up to meet his equally infuriating face. He was grinning widely, his hazel eyes twinkling with amusement.

She grabbed his arm and moved it away from her shoulders jerkily, sending him a dark look. "I'm not in a mood for you, Potter." She snapped as she started to climb up the stairs.

"Don't be like that, love." Potter said as he followed her, grin in place. "I was just wondering if you'd like to be my date for the memorial benefit."

Valeria stopped at the top of the stairs and whirled around to stare at him. "Are you kidding me?" She snapped. "Have you not gotten the hint already, Potter? _I don't like you._ I was drugged. It meant nothing."

James looked around, probably to check that there was no one around to witness him getting rejected. Valeria rolled her eyes and started walking again. She didn't want to deal with him.

"Wait, Scott!" Valeria didn't stop and marched up the stairs, stomping her feet loudly.

"Look, I know you were on love potion!" She stopped at the words but didn't turn to face him. "I'm not stupid. Clearly, you weren't in your right mind."

"Then why didn't you say so?" She turned around and stared down at him. He was standing on the first step, his hazel eyes staring up at her earnestly, his playful, teasing grin nowhere in sight. "Why did you keep on teasing me and telling everyone that you knew I had the 'hots for you' all along?" She raised her eyebrows inquiringly, her posture reserved.

Potter shrugged helplessly. "I guess I thought it'd be fun."

Valeria snorted, rolling her eyes at his typical answer. "Humiliating me was fun for you? How typical, Potter. You think that just because your father's Harry Potter, you can get away with everything. Do you really think I'm that shallow? Do you think I'm going to forget what you put me through the past week? You're nothing to me, Potter. Your last name doesn't mean anything with me, so go try to manipulate some other clueless bird, yeah? Have a good day." He didn't follow her after that and she left with his dumbfounded look permanently etched into her brain.

The memorial benefit was a ball thrown in respect for the deceased in the Battle of Hogwarts. They had it every year, on May 2. There was a ceremony before the ball began, where everyone put a lily in the large pond made specially for the purpose outside on the grounds. It was close to Albus Dumbledore's tomb, and there was a large memorial stone towering over the large pond, with each name of the casualties from both the First and Second Wizarding wars engraved carefully on it. They all paid their respects to the dead, and then they proceeded to get plastered in their name. It was truly a beautiful tradition. (please, do note the sarcasm.)

The benefit was in two days, and if Valeria didn't think it would be hugely disrespectful, she wouldn't bother to go at all.

Potter and his family were like the special guests to the ball. His whole family turned up, along with others, and they all had a big reunion in front of all the cameras. It would be cute, if it wasn't so disgustingly fake. Valeria knew for a fact that Rose and Lucy greatly disliked each other, and she knew that Lily didn't like the publicity at all and hated being photographed. There was a lot going on behind the scenes in their family but they didn't allow anyone to know that.

Valeria didn't want to deal with a ponce like him at all.

...

Dinner was always very loud and social. Valeria would have preferred to sit with her best friend at the end of the table and talk to her, and only her, but Jane wasn't much of a best friend anymore and Valeria had to try work with what she had left, which was Patricia and her friends.

She walked over to where Patricia was sitting, saving her seat just as she had promised to her earlier, and sat down.

"Do my eyes deceive me?" Charlie Crowe exclaimed from his seat opposite of her. "Is this the ever exclusive Valeria Scott sitting here with us, the mere proletariat?"

"Shut up, Charlie. You're going to scare her off!" Duncan said as he whacked his friend on the head. "Mashed potatoes?" He offered to bowl to Valeria with a gracious grin and she took it with a grateful smile.

"Thanks." She said and slapped a large spoonful of potatoes on her plate.

"Where's Richards?" Charlie asked noisily, looking inquiringly at Valeria. Her hand froze above the lamb chops and she glanced up at him, her clear blue eyes betraying her annoyance at his question.

"Are you really that thick, Charlie?" Patricia snapped irritably, pointing her fork at him. "Can you stop shoving your long nose in her business?"

Valeria thought it was a bit rich coming from Patricia of all people, but she kept her opinions to herself. After all, the girl was speaking in her defense. Charlie seemed to share the same opinion as her, however, and had absolutely no problem with voicing it.

"That's funny, coming from you. You can't keep your nose out of anyone's business if your life depended on it."

"Can we not fight?" Clair Jones asked placidly, looking between them with accusing eyes. "Can we talk about something normal, like the upcoming match against Gryffindor or the benefit?"

"What's there to talk about the match? We're going to trash Gryffindor." Duncan said arrogantly, looking at Valeria with an expectant look in his eyes.

"Yeah. We're really good this year." She said and Duncan nodded in satisfaction.

"The benefit then." Clair said, her voice peaking up in excitement. "I heard James Potter ask you to be his date." She said, looking at Valeria with sparkling eyes. "And you said no." She giggled, looking at her with something akin to awe in her eyes, as if rejecting James Potter was something out of her spectrum of understanding.

"From who?" Valeria questioned, feeling both annoyed and incredulous. Gossip really did travel fast around Hogwarts it seemed, and Valeria hated it. She wanted everyone to stop discussing her personal life behind her back and asking her questions that she didn't want to answer. She wanted them to realise it was none of their bloody business.

"From Clary Richards." Clair answered promptly. "So, is it true? Did he really ask you? Did you really say no?"

"What did I tell you people about asking her personal questions?" Patricia snapped suddenly, looking annoyed. "Seriously people, stop interrogating her. She has enough on her plate as it is. You know she and Jane don't talk to each other anymore and all that business with Potter can't be easy on her. So stop it and leave the bird to eat in peace."

"Thanks." Valeria muttered to Patricia, a little surprised at her vehement defense of her.

"You're welcome." Patricia said with a warm smile.

They continued to eat and fell into a more normal conversation about nothing in particular. Valeria looked down the table and saw Jane sitting with her sister, Clary, the girl who had spread the gossip this time, and her friends, all in their seventh year. She was laughing and looking pretty content sitting there, as if she had always belonged with them, while Valeria sat in a midst of people she never bothered to get to know very well, feeling like an outsider.

Valeria had thought that dinner would be uneventful affair, but she should have known that things wouldn't go nearly as smooth and easy for her. Just as dessert appeared on the table and she reached out for a piece of apple crumble, a booming, magically amplified male voice filled the wide expanse of the Great Hall.

"_When I see your face, there's not a thing I would change —" _She turned around along with everyone and stared at the messy-haired boy standing tall on the bench at the Gryffindor table. To her utter horror, he was looking and pointing right at her as lyrics spewed from his mouth. She felt the stares of everyone on her, and she had to resist the urge of doing something incredibly embarrassing, like hide under the table, for instance, or cast a Stunner on herself just so she wouldn't have to endure the horror of having James Potter serenade her with a cheesy muggle song from nearly two decades ago in front of the _whole bloody school._

Potter jumped off the bench and headed for her table, never breaking the song. She noted absently that he had a rather pleasant singing voice, if a bit too husky and scratchy at some parts. But she soon snapped out of it and stopped assessing Potter's singing voice in favour of glaring murderously at him, hoping he'd get the hint and shut the bloody hell up.

He didn't, of course. The boy seemed to naturally repel mundane things such as obvious hints, constructive criticism and waves of outright hatred and killing intents - something she was oozing off in tidal waves right now.

"_Because girl you're amazing, just the way you are." _He was nearly at her table. He was taking his time walking over, probably to bask in all the attention he was getting. He was such a diva. Valeria reached into the pocket of her robes, her hands closing around the familiar, welcoming handle of her wand. She smiled sweetly, the type of sweet smile that sent chills down your spine, and waited for Potter to reach her.

_"Her lips, her lips, I could kiss them all day if she let me."_ Valeria's eyes widened when he winked at her, his lips stretching into a suggestive smile. Anger bubbled up in her chest and she hoped her cheeks weren't nearly as red as she suspected they were. She felt hot all over, but it wasn't at all because she was attracted to him. No, she was boiling with anger. She was going to _kill _him and sent his remains to his parents' doorstep with a simple note saying: 'He was my Voldemort. I'm sure you would understand.'

Potter finally reached her and stared down at her with sparks of devilish amusement dancing in his eyes. She glared up at him, her arms locking tightly over chest, as though she didn't plan to unlock them anytime soon. His smile widened at her angry and displeased disposition. The git seemed to greatly enjoy getting the rise of her and humiliating her publicly.

_"Girl you're amazing, just the way you are." _He finally closed his mouth and Valeria allowed herself to sigh in relief. Of course, she soon tensed again when a deafening silence met the end of Potter's song. She looked around her, everyone was staring at them, various expressions on their faces, ranging from amusement to incredulity to shock. Everyone looked speechless with either emotion, and she felt again felt like digging herself a hole and hiding in there until death came naturally for her. She rarely felt embarrassed, but Potter seemed to have an irritating knack for it.

But that wasn't all. Suddenly another booming sound echoed in the Great Hall, and they all looked up as cracking colour fireworks formed a simple sentence that did nothing to calm the storm of fury within Valeria.

_'Valeria Scott, will you accompany me to the memorial benefit?'_

She looked at Potter again, who looked ridiculously smug and stood up. He looked at her, raising an eyebrow and she smiled sweetly. Faster than Potter could react, she grabbed her goblet full of pumpkin juice and threw it in his face, then she whipped out her wand and shot a Bat-Boogey Hex at him. He cried out in shock and stumbled back, his hands flying up to his face. She grinned maliciously and put a hand on her hip.

"Is my answer clear to you, or should I try to _crystallize _it further for you?"

His angonized eyes filled with anger. "You bloody—"

"The message is clear then." She continued in her sweetly bland tone. Valeria turned to Patricia, the smile never leaving her face. "I feel rather full." She said. "I'm going to bed."

Patricia nodded slowly, her eyes were so painfully wide that Valeria wondered if they were ever going back to their usual size.

"Have a good night." She told to the whole school, since they were all staring at her anyway. She shot Potter a victorious look and marched past him and out the Great Hall. The second she walked through the doors, the Great Hall exploded with tittering voices and uproarious laughter.


	2. Chapter 2

disclaimer: i do not own hp

* * *

Valeria up to the sunlight streaming through the window and hitting her right in the face. She groaned and closed her eyes, ducking away from the light that came through the window. She quite literary rolled out of bed and barely managed to land on her legs as she did so. Once she stood up and straightened, she noticed the room was empty. All the beds were made and the silence was lonely. She frowned slightly and glanced back at the clock on her bedside table. Her eyes widened in horror when she saw the time. She had missed Charms!

For a moment she stood still, her mind going on an overdrive. Then, her brain finally managed to shot some signals through her body and she jolted in action. She couldn't believe she overslept! And she missed Charms, one of her favourite subjects! If she hadn't kept on tossing around in her bed and thinking a creative ways to end Potter's life, she wouldn't have overslept. She buttoned her blouse hastily, nearly ripping the buttons a couple of times. She wiggled in her skirt, threw her tie over her neck, shoved her legs into the ghastly knee-length socks and put on her flats. She quickly checked her bag, to make sure she had everything she'd need for the day and didn't forget any of her homework assignments, grabbed her black cloak and ran out of the dormitory as if Voldemort himself was after her.

She stormed into the Transfiguration room five minutes into the lesson, her hair a complete mess, her tan cheeks bright red and her chest heaving up and down as she whizzed for breath. Old McGonagall didn't look impressed with her grand entrance, and was quick to dock ten points, give her a detention and order her to sit down. Valeria looked at desk where she normally sat with Jane, but there was a dark-haired girl in her usual place, doodling something on her parchment, her large glasses low on her nose.

Valeria's lips curled and her eyes narrowed in distaste and resentment and she scanned the room, searching for somewhere to sit. She saw Patricia who was signalling for her to sit at the front of the room and with a long-suffering sigh, she trudged over to her blonde dorm mate and sank into her chair heavily.

Professor McGonagall resumed her lecture and Valeria quickly took out her things. The class around her exploded into quiet whispers and she glanced behind her when she heard quiet giggling. She accidentally caught a pair of hazel eyes that peeked through the row of students behind her. He didn't look angry, but the smirk on his face didn't bode well for her, she knew that much.

"Quiet!" Professor McGonagall's sharp, clear voice cut through the whispers like a razor. "Is Gamp's fourth law boring to you, students?" Valeria tried not to smirk as everyone shuffled uncomfortably in their seats. Professor McGonagall might look old and frail but she still had the strength to intimidate the whole school with a sentence and sometimes just a simple glance. It did help that she still held the position of Headmistress, which automatically made her even more frightening. "As a punishment for your distraction and continued misbehaving in my class for the past week, you will all write an essay on the four laws we've studied so far, and you'll make it as detailed as you can. You'll squeeze every drop of information you have in your heads."

Not quite smiling but definitely looking pleased with herself, Professor McGonagall cocked a single eyebrow. "Can I continue doing my job now?"

A few students nodded hastily while others avoided looking at her all-together. Professor McGonagall nodded and began talking again. Valeria started to take notes, but she was distracted when Patricia tore a piece of her parchment and hastily scribbled something down but before she passed it onto her, she tapped it once with her wand. Valeria raised an eyebrow and looked down at the note curiously.

_I heard James and Fred mentioning your name and laughing. They had those smiles on their faces. I couldn't here everything, but I think they're planing to do something to you. Get you back for yesterday._

As soon as Valeria finished reading it, the text vanished, leaving the parchment perfectly clear and smooth. She glanced at Patricia, who noticed the questioning look in her eyes and shrugged.

"One of my inventions." She whispered quietly as she took her quill again and started doodling a crow at the right bottom corner of her parchment. Her parchment was scarcely covered in writing, it was mostly just different doodles. Valeria was surprised Patricia wasn't taking notes, she always seemed to do so studiously.

She glanced up at Professor McGonagall, who was explaining in details the law against resurrection. Thankfully, Valeria had already read about that, weeks ago when Professor McGonagall had told them that they were starting on the Gamp's Laws. She dipped her quill in the ink and began writing.

_I knew he was planing something. You didn't hear anything else, you say?_

Patricia shook her head when she read it and the letters dutifully disappeared again.

_Damn, that complicates things._

Patricia bit on her lower lip, covered in vivid red lipstick, and took the note again.

_I know we're not close or anything, but why did you do that? I thought it was sweet, what he did._

Valeria resisted the urge to snort out loud. Sweet and James Potter didn't go together. He had done it only because he knew it'd embarrass her. She wrote that down, adding that Patricia didn't know the whole story.

_Will you ever tell me the whole story?_

Valeria glanced at Patricia, who for once didn't seem only hungry for more gossip, but genuinely interested and concerned. She bit her lip, surprised at Patricia's sudden change of attitude. She pondered over for a bit, and glanced over her shoulder at where Jane was sitting with Harriet. She caught Jane's eyes immediately, and she saw Jane's pale cheeks flush at being caught staring. Jane quickly looked down and started writing something quickly. Valeria let out a sigh.

_Yes, I'll tell you later._

A smile blossomed on Patricia's face and she slipped the scarp of parchment between the pages of her Transfiguration book. They didn't talk or pass notes for the rest of the lesson. When the bell rang, everyone stood up. Valeria was putting her book in her bag when her name piqued her attention.

"Miss Scott, will you please stay behind for a moment?"

Some of the students exchanged gleeful looks, happy at the prospect of someone getting scolded by their Headmistress. Valeria rolled her eyes and shoved her book more violently. She looked at Patricia, who was looking at Potter and Fred, who were nudging each other and laughing as they left the classroom.

"I'll wait for you outside." She told Valeria.

"Thanks." Valeria said with a small smile. Patricia nodded and joined the flow of students leaving the classroom. Once everyone was out, Valeria swung her bag over her shoulder and turned to look at Professor McGonagall.

"Come here, Miss Scott." The professor said. Valeria walked over to her desk and tried not to appear as nervous as she felt. Professor McGonagall was staring at her with those sharp, green eyes, as if trying to peek into her mind. "You're not in trouble, Miss Scott. Although I hope tardiness won't become a habit for you."

"Of course not, Professor." Valeria said quickly.

"I only wanted to return your essay on conjuring." Professor McGonagall said as she fished through a thin stack of parchments. "There it is." She handed it to Valeria and she took it cautiously. Her heart jumped as she saw the blood red O at the top corner, and she couldn't quite help the grin that spread across her face. "I was quite impressed with your essay, Miss Scott. I thought that perhaps you'd feel overworked with your choice of N.E.W.T.s courses and Quidditch practice but you once again prove me wrong."

Valeria tried not to seem to pleased with herself. "Thank you, Professor."

Professor McGonagall smiled thinly. "You're welcome, Miss Scott. I expect a lot of your essay on Gamp's Law."

"Right. I'll try not to disappoint."

"Good. Off you go, then." Professor McGonagall dragged a thick stack of papers that looked like important paperwork in front of her and with a heavy sigh, started to look through them. Valeria nodded quickly and stalked out of the room, clutching her essay in her hand. Patricia was waiting for her outside, and when she saw her, she quickly pulled away from the wall and walked up to her.

"Well, you aren't in trouble, right?" She asked as they headed down the corridor.

Valeria shook her head with a smile. "No, she only wanted to return my essay on conjuring."

Patricia's eyes fell on the parchment she was holding and she quickly snatched it from her hands. "An O? You bitch. I have an E." She pouted and thrust the parchment back to Valeria.

Valeria chuckled and put it away in her bag. "Well, I studied a lot for it."

"And you think I didn't?" Patricia exclaimed, looking offended. "Whatever." She flipped her hair over her shoulders, her expression clearing. "An E is still a high grade. Some idiots got D's on it. Makes you wonder what they're doing in advanced transfiguration."

"Someone got a D on this?" Valeria asked, shocked.

Patricia nodded. "I think it was Sylvia Bloom, but I'm not exactly sure. But when we take into account her grades in other subjects, I think it's safe to say that only she could accomplish it."

Valeria nodded. "She's almost as dumb as that Goyle bloke from Slytherin."

"Stupidity seems to run the family." Patricia said with a chuckle. "Goyle and Sylvia are cousins, did you know that?"

Valeria shook her head. "No, but it isn't really surprising. It'd explain her appearance."

Patricia made a face and giggled. "Yes, it would, wouldn't it? Well, I have Herbology now. What do you have?"

Valeria racked her brain for a moment until the answer appeared in her mind. She made a face. "Arithmancy." She usually enjoyed it but at the moment the mere thought of using so much brain power made her head hurt.

"Well, I'll see you at lunch, then." Patricia said cheerfully as she headed towards the stairs that led downwards, while Valeria started to climb up the one that led to seventh floor and where the Arithmancy classroom was located.

...

After lunch, Valeria went into the library. She had a free period, which she usually spent studying and doing her homework. She stacked a dozen of Transfiguration books on the table that she thought might help her with her research for her essay, took of her robe and settled comfortably on one of the chairs. Jane always thought spending so much time in the library was a waste of time, but Jane was street smart, and she learned everything from experience. She also had nearly photographic memory, so she remembered almost everything she ever read or heard, which made it easier for her to complete assignments with minimal effort.

She was just flipping through one of the books, when a shadow loomed over her. She looked up and came face to face with Potter, whose face, for once, wasn't split into a grin. She raised her eyebrows questioningly and suddenly regretted taking off her robe, where she usually put her wand in. But, Potter wouldn't attack her in the library, she reasoned. Not if he wanted Madam Hugh to stab him.

"What is it that you want, Potter?" She asked as she looked back at her book and continued to leaf through the pages. She gritted her teeth in annoyance when he pulled one of the chairs and sat down.

"Why, Scott, with that tone one would think you aren't happy to see me." He said in a drawling voice. She looked up at him, unable to hide the irritation. He smirked and leaned forward. "You have no idea what people have been talking about you, have you?"

Valeria frowned. "What?" She asked. What could they possibly be saying about her? She hadn't done anything wrong!

"Oh, just how heartless you are for doing what you did to me yesterday." James said carelessly, flicking his hair away from his eyes. "I was quite hurt, to tell you the truth." He put a hand to his heard, a sigh escaping his lips. "To think how much thought and emotion I put into that performance, just for you, and not only did you not appreciate it, but you trampled all over it. You know, I have girls lining up to by my date for tomorrow." His eyes glinted. "Do you feel bad for rejecting me now?"

"Not a bit." Valeria said with a roll of her eyes. "In fact, I pity all those clueless birds who actually want to date you. They don't know what a tosser you are yet."

For a moment, Potter's face tightened, but then his face split into a smile. "How bitter you are, Scott. You know you've lost your chance to be with me and now you're lashing it out on those lucky ladies who might get a piece of this." He pointed at himself and his arrogant smile widened.

Valeria stared at him grinning face in disbelief. "You're delusional." She declared. "Absolutely bonkers. Why don't you go snog your reflection and leave me alone?"

"What's the fun in that?" In typical Potter fashion, her insults bounced off him.

"Potter, I don't know if you were aware, but the library is not a place to have a casual chit-chat. So why don't you run along now and go do whatever you usually do?"

"Why are you so mean to me?" Potter asked, pretending to be extremely hurt.

Valeria smiled sweetly, a sudden idea popping in her head. She was such a genius. "No, I will not practice Incendio charm with you, James Potter!" She said in a very loud voice, making several students turn around and stare. Just as she predicted, Madam Hugh stormed over to them and grabbed Potter by the ear, hauling him up on his feet. He howled in pain and glared murderously at Valeria, who just smiled innocently in return.

"I'm sorry I made such a racket, Madam Hugh, but he really shocked me!" She told Madam Hugh, whose hard features softened slightly at her earnest, blue-eyed gaze.

"It's nothing, my dear girl." Madam Hugh turned her steely eyes on Potter. "Out, you! I knew from the start you'll cause problems!" She dragged Potter with her, and Valeria smirked smugly to herself when she saw him making grimaces of pain and annoyance as Madam Hugh prattled on and on about the importance and sacredness of books and how they should be treated as the holy things they were. She thought she saw him mouth something, but she was too busy feeling pleased with herself to really pay attention. She returned to work in much higher spirits.

...

On her way to the Great Hall, Valeria was quite literary abducted. Someone, someone wearing an overwhelmingly strong flowery perfume, grabbed her arm and shoved her in an empty classroom. Valeria whirled around and raised her eyebrows when she saw Patricia peeking cautiously out the door before she slammed it shut and locked it with a wave of her wand.

"James and Fred are waiting for you around the corner." She explained as she turned to face Valeria. "James said something about his ear being nearly ripped off because of you? I don't know what happened there, but I think he's even more determined to get back at you now. Oh, Valeria, why did you have to piss off the two biggest pranksters in the school?"

"Hey, he started it!" Valeria defended herself, if a bit childishly.

Patricia clicked her tongue. "Sweetie, I think you started it. You were the one who basically threw herself at him in the middle of dinner last week."

"I was drugged with love potion!" Valeria bellowed, making Patricia jump and step back with wide eyes. Valeria took a deep, calming breath and looked Patricia in the eyes seriously. "I swear to God, Merlin or whatever arsehole is up there that I wasn't in my right mind, Patricia."

"Okay, okay, no need to shout." Patricia said quickly, eyeing Valeria carefully, much to her annoyance. "I got you the first time."

"Right." Valeria scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Like I hadn't repeated the same thing over and over for the past week."

"Hey, I'm helping you! You should be angry at the person who gave you the love potion." Valeria could hear the 'supposedly' in her sentence without her saying it and rolled her eyes, plopping down on one of the desks.

"Whatever. When do you think the coast will be clear?" She asked as she inspected her chipped nail polish. She really needed to remove it. It was really ugly.

Patricia shrugged her shoulders and sat beside Valeria. "I don't know. Dinner should start soon, I'm sure they wouldn't miss to stuff their faces."

Valeria snorted. "Definitely not."

"So, are you going to clue me in?" Valeria glanced at Patricia, who was staring at her expectantly, legs crossed comfortably in front of her. Valeria sighed and run a hand through her long, brown hair.

"You can't tell Clair any of that, though. You can't tell anyone. It's not that it's that big of a secret, but I don't want them to have another reason to talk about me behind my back."

Patricia nodded slowly. "I promise I won't tell."

Valeria sighed again and focused her eyes on the little bow on top of her flats. "After the accident, Potter hasn't left me alone. He doesn't do anything in public - anything that might paint him as the bad guy at least. But anyway, he cornered me a few times and teased me. A lot. Stuff about how if I wanted him, I could have just said so. Then he said something about desperation turning him off. Stuff like that, you know. But yesterday, he said that he knew that I wasn't in my right mind all along, and that he wanted to make it up to me by inviting me to the benefit as his date. You can imagine why I wouldn't go out with him, right? So, I said no and to get me back, he sang the song in front of the whole school, knowing that I'll get angry and do something stupid." Valeria scowled, but she was more annoyed at herself at the moment. Potter had expected that reaction of her, and that was why he had done it, and she had played right into his hands. She looked at Patricia, who was staring at her with a thoughtful look on her face.

"I see.." She said after several moments of silence. Her eyes refocused and she smiled almost mischievously at Valeria. "So he thinks he can get away with being a complete git to you? We'll see about that." She pushed away from the desk and unlocked the door.

"Where are you going?" Valeria asked, confused.

"I'm going to teach James Potter some manners." She said with a wicked grin as she opened the door and left. Valeria stood still for a moment, surprised, then she grabbed her bag and followed after Patricia.

"Oh, Potter!" She heard Patricia call in a sing-song voice. She saw Patricia's blonde hair disappear just around the corner and picked up her pace.

"What is it, Fitz?" She heard Potter reply. His reply was followed by a loud yelp, and Patricia's victorious laughter. When Valeria arrived at the scene, she saw a large black cloud hovering about James, drenching him in dirty water. She wrinkled her nose at the smell and glanced at Patricia, who was grinning like a mad woman.

"I've wanted to try this for a while." She said casually as she played with her hand. She eyed Potter critically and her grin widened. "That's no ordinary rain, by the way. The water comes straight from the sewer pipes."

Valeria's mouth dropped open in shock, along with Fred's and Potter's. Potter quickly closed it shut though, a revolted look on his face.

"You're going to pay for this!" Potter growled as he reached out to grab his wand.

"Expelliarmus!" Patricia said instantly, and Potter's wand flew out of his hand.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Fred bellowed. Patricia hadn't expected an attack from him and was too slow to dodge. Valeria winced when she fell on the floor and turned to stare at the two boys.

Much to her relief Fred seemed to busy with trying to remove the curse off Potter, so she turned her attention on Patricia. She took out her wand and pointed it at Patricia. "Finite." She whispered. Patricia twitched before she started moving her arms fully and slowly set up.

"Stay still, you prat! I'm trying to figure it out!" Fred snapped at Potter.

"Well, hurry up. I'm going to — " Valeria's eyes closed and she made a face at the sudden retching sound.

"You bloody idiot!" Fred shouted, his voice disgusted and angry. Valeria quickly grabbed Patricia's hand and dragged her up on her feet.

"Let's get out of here!" She said and the two of them ran like death was after them. They took refuge in the empty classroom from before and Valeria made sure they were locked securely. She slid to the ground, breathing heavily.

"That was very stupid." She said after she took a deep breath. "But brilliant. How do you come up with this stuff?"

Patricia grinned and tapped her temple. "It's all up in here, stored away."

"Why did you do that?" Valeria said after a slight pause. "You didn't have to, you know. I wouldn't have dealt with them on my own, somehow."

"I know." Patricia said with a simple shrug as she sat on one of the desks and crossed her legs. "I don't mind being their target. Plus, you'd need someone to watch your back and take their minds off you from time to time."

Valeria wouldn't admit it, but she felt kind of warm at Patricia's confession. Even though she didn't need her help, she still felt moved that the girl offered it anyway. She felt a bit bad for everything she had said about her in the past years, and she vowed to try and get to know her better without automatically judging her. After all, anyone who willingly went and hexed James Potter for her couldn't be that bad.

"You know..." Valeria looked at Patricia, who had a slightly worried look on her face. "I think we declared an unofficial war on them now."

Valeria's eyebrows rose. "What do you mean?"

"Do you think they'll take this lightly, Valeria? All of this? I don't think so. You know, we Ravenclaws are supposed to be logical thinkers, we are supposed to think ahead and plan out our moves." Patricia rubbed her forehead. "I feel like I've failed at being a Ravenclaw."

"Well.." Valeria licked her lips, deep in thought. "On the bright side, you'll get the chance to practice your little charms and spells on someone."

Patricia snorted. "Happy days."


	3. Chapter 3

i don't know if I should be completely discouraged be the absolute lack of reviews but i'll post the chapters i've written for now.

* * *

"You know what I think? I think you should just shag him and get him out of your system."

Valeria's mouth dropped in shock and she glared murderously at the reflection in the mirror. "Very funny." She said in clipped tones. "I'm just rolling around with laughter."

Her cousin raised a single eyebrow and ran his hands through her hair to make sure there weren't any more tangles. "I wasn't kidding, darling. James's fit, so I don't see what the problem is. I doubt he'd speak much during anyway, so you won't feel like decking him in the face. See, a win-win."

"Okay, first of all, he's not even in my system, so I don't have to get him out anyway. Second of all, just seeing his face these days makes me want to deck him in the gob, so, the only way I would ever sleep with him is if he swapped heads with someone."

Mick's gum balloon popped loudly and he rolled his eyes, grabbing one of the potion vials. "Look, sweetheart, I'm only saying this for your own good. Bang him and the problem will be solved. Trust me, I doubt he'd feel very vengeful after that." He smirked, his eyes alight with amusement. His amusement grew when Valeria threw him a revolted look. "All right, do whatever you want. I just think that there's a lot of sexual pent-up frustration in there and it's disturbing your chi. That's why you've been so irritable lately."

"Disturbing my _chi?_" Valeria asked incredulously, turning her head to stare at her cousin.

"Don't move!" He ordered firmly and turned her head around sharply. She scowled but stayed put.

"Are you still reading those rubbish muggle magazines?" She asked as she watched Mick take a strand of her hair and slap a bit of the sparkling curling potion on it. He wrapped the strand around the heated stick that came with the potion and finally looked at her.

"They aren't rubbish! I'll have you know that ever since I started them, I've been much calmer and in peace with myself." He popped another bubble and uncurled her hair from the stick. It fell down in beautiful spiral curl down her side. "I've learned some startling things about myself and my Ego."

"Like that fact that you're a raving lunatic?" Valeria asked, her tone amused.

Mick huffed. "You can scoff at it all you want but in the end I'll be the one to outlive you all because I'm constantly cleansing my soul."

Valeria couldn't help but snort at the ridiculousness of his statement. "I'm sorry, did I disturb your chi?" She asked, snickering when Mick glared at her. "Ouch!" She yelped when something hot touched her scalp. Mick raised the heated stick triumphantly, his eyebrow raised in challenge. "That hurt, you moron!" She said as she touched the spot on her head.

"I know." Mick said as he curled a strand of her hair around her finger. "That was the point. Now, are you going to continue to make fun of me? Because I'm doing this out of the goodness of my heart, and nothing else. I can always leave you to your own devices. Merlin knows we'll all have a good laugh at the result."

It was Valeria's turned to scowl. "I can always ask Patricia do this, you know."

Mick chortled. "Really? Do you want to look like that muggle train wreck, Sookie or whatever she's called?"

"Snooki, I think." Valeria said and made a face at the thought. "No. Definitely not."

"Then you don't want Patricia to do this." Mick said as he continued to do his magic. "Do you know whose kid she's having now?"

Valeria shook her head. "Do we care?"

"Not really. I've got to trim you're hair soon. It's getting split ends." Valeria grabbed a strand of her hair and eyed it critically, narrowing her eyes. She sighed when she saw that he was right and nodded.

"But be careful how much you cut. The last time you hacked off half my hair."

"Honey, I did you a favour." Mick replied. "But I'm starting to like you with longer hair so I won't cut much. You know, I've always thought you'd look good with a fringe." As he said this, he put some of her hair in front of her face as a make shift fringe. "But not the straight one, I've always hated it. Side fringe is coming back to fashion anyway."

"No, thanks." Valeria replied as she batted his hands away. She had a fringe when she was twelve and she hadn't looked good at all. Plus, it always got in her eyes and annoyed her.

Mick sighed dramatically. "You're always making it so hard to work with you."

"Good to know my efforts are paying off." Valeria responded with a sweet smile.

Mick raised the heated stick threateningly and Valeria shrunk slightly in her chair. Mick smirked to himself and continued to do his thing in silence. Valeria watched his reflection in the mirror and smiled a bit to herself. Mick was a year younger than her, also in Ravenclaw. She saw him as more of a brother than a cousin. He had moved in with them three years ago, after his parents found out that he was gay and his father kicked him out. Valeria still felt like punching him whenever she saw him in family reunions. Reunions Mick didn't attend because of him. It was stupid. Valeria thought that they lived in a time when prejudice against any sort of people was gone, but Uncle Greg was an old-fashioned man and he didn't make exception for anyone, if they didn't see things the way he saw them. He was stupid and narrow-minded and this was why there wasn't any reasoning with him. Aunt Bea wrote to Mick occasionally, but from the few letters Valeria had read, she was trying to persuade Mick to attend some sort of a treating center that would help him cure his 'sickness'. Valeria knew that hurt Mick even more than his father outright hostility. His own mother thinking that he was sick just because he was different.

She couldn't imagine how Mick felt but he stayed strong all the way. He never submitted to his parents wishes and he continued to be proud and open about who he was. Valeria had always envied his courage to be himself completely without worrying about the consequences.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Mick's voice jerked her out of her thoughts and she blinked a couple of times.

"Like what?" She asked.

"Like a proud mother or something." Mick replied, pushing another perfectly curled strand towards the curled portion of her hair.

"Change that to a proud sister." Valeria replied with a smile. Mick's features softened slightly at her words.

"You know, you can be disgustingly sweet when you want to." Mick said after he had gotten a hold of himself and plastered that sassy look on his face again.

"As long as it's only sometimes, I see nothing wrong with that." Valeria said, touching one of the curls.

"Don't touch!" Mick said as he slapped her hand away. "Leave the potion dry completely. I'll be ready in a bit and then you can proceed to destroy my hard work."

Valeria did the mature thing and stuck her tongue out at him.

Mick raised the heated stick wordlessly and Valeria whipped the cheeky look off her face.

Mick smirked.

"When you're done eye-shagging yourself, kindly remove yourself from in front of the mirror."

"One thing I've always like about you, Mick — you're always so very nice." Valeria replied in a drawl that, disturbingly enough, reminded her of Potter. She shut her mouth abruptly and moved away from the mirror, wiggling over to one of the beds in her tight, mermaid-style dress.

"Well, I do my best for the family." Mick replied cheekily as he stood in front of the mirror, smoothing down his perfect navy dress robes and dusting off non-existent dirt off his shoulders and sleeves. "If I was a girl, I'd totally get all the guys tonight."

"If you say so." Valeria said, her voice amused. Mick flipped her the bird and sprayed more of the muggle hair spray on his hair.

"Do you think the Potter - Weasley clan would reunite this year too?" He asked, finally turning away from the mirror to look at Valeria.

"Of course." Valeria replied as she picked up her shiny clutch purse and pushed the stray strand of curly hair back to where it belonged on the right side of her head. "They wouldn't miss the chance."

"Well, Victoire Weasley didn't come last year." He said as he walked up to her and carefully arranged her hair to stay only on her right side again. "I know you want to talk to her, too."

"Well, she was nine months pregnant last year." Valeria said, remembering how disappointed she'd been when the oldest of the Potter - Weasley clan hadn't come to the benefit. She was the only one of the lot she wanted to talk to, so of course she wouldn't come. Of course, she had a legit reason not to come, but that hadn't lessened Valeria's disappointment. Victoire was a Curse-Breaker and a damn good one at that. Valeria also wanted to become a Curse-Breaker, so she wanted to talk to someone who was as influential and experienced as Victoire was. She would have talked to her father, Bill, but for the past year he only took jobs here in the UK and mainly worked in Gringotts and Valeria was interested in other countries.

Mick made a disgusted face. "Right. Babies. I can't understand why people need them."

"I imagine it's just a silly whim." Valeria replied and ducked out of the way of the brush Mick threw in her direction.

"You have terrible aim." Valeria said idly, eyeing the shiny brush that had landed on the other side of the room. "No wonder you didn't make the Quidditch team."

Mick's cheeks flushed pale pink at the reminder of his disastrous try out for the Quidditch team three years ago. It had been his last attempt at doing something that might softened the blow when he told his father he was gay but with his chicken arms and terrible aim, he wasn't much of a player at all. The only position that didn't require strength or good aim was the seeker position, but he lacked the passion and the skill to do it. He was quite good on a broom, but he seemed to lose all composure whenever he was forced to remove his hands from the handle. "We agreed to never talk about that again." He said with a huff, glaring at Valeria in displeasure.

"We agreed not to talk about this in front of other people." Valeria corrected him with a sly grin.

"I hate you." Mick declared and opened the door, marching out of the room.

Valeria rolled her eyes at his dramatic antics but followed him with a fond smile on her face. It was rather tedious to walk down the staircase in her dress, but she managed it without tripping or tearing anything, which was an accomplishment in her books. Valeria didn't completely abhor dressing up like Jane, but she found long, ball dresses like the one she was wearing too annoying to be worth the trouble, even if they made her feel extremely pretty.

Mick was waiting for her at the foot of the stairs and she grinned when he offered her his arm. She would probably look pathetic in people's eyes, going with her cousin as her date, but she didn't care. Often her dates to events like this expected something more afterwards and she, more of than not, wanted them only as a one night thing. And none of them was very impressed when she told them that.

"Don't you look dashing, darling." Mick said, profusely deepening his, rather higher than usual for males, voice.

"You don't look so bad yourself." Valeria replied, playing along. "So you don't hate me anymore?"

"I've calmed down for now." Mick replied as they headed for the exit. "But you should watch your back tonight."

"Oh, not you too." Valeria said with a groan, a look of mock-despair on her face. Mick shot her an amused glance and his arm around hers tightened.

"I told you what you should do." Mick said with a suggestive grin and a waggle of his eyebrows. Valeria pushed him slightly and decided that he wasn't worthy of an answer.

The entrance hall was almost too full with people, as it was every year on this date; students, teachers, guests and Valeria saw even a few reporters, in the midst of them Rita Skeeter with her nearly fluorescent blonde hair. Valeria made a face as she and Mick made their way down the grand staircase, her eyes scanning the area for any sign of Patricia and her friends.

She spotted Patricia almost too quickly, but she was hard to miss in her flamboyant red gown.

"C'mon, let's go there." Valeria said as she nodded her head towards Patricia and her friends. Mick eyes fell on them and he frowned a bit, but he let Valeria drag him along nonetheless.

"Hey, guys!" Patricia greeted when she saw them coming. She had a white lily in her hands that matched the one in everyone else's hands. Valeria and Mick decided to just conjure them, and if that didn't succeed, duplicate them. It was easier than carrying the flower all around the school with them.

"Hey." Valeria greeted with a smile. Her eyes traveled along all of them and stopped on Duncan. She raised an eyebrow in amusement. "You realise that the funerals were years ago, right? This is just the ceremony." He had opted for a more muggle look with a touch of wizardry. He was wearing black trousers, black shoes and black button up shirt, and he had thrown a black cloak over all of that, so not to look completely out of place.

"You're just jealous." Duncan replied, pretending to flip his nonexistent long hair over his shoulder.

"Of what?" Valeria asked, trying to hold back a chuckle.

Duncan shrugged. "I don't know, I never bothered to stay around and listen to what girls say after that." He seemed sheepish for a moment but then his cheerful grin appeared again. "So, where are your flowers? You know Harry Potter's here, right? You have to put the lily in there."

"He's not going to kill us if we don't have the bloody flowers, Duncan." Mick said with a roll of his eyes. "And we're conjuring them. Valeria taught me how to do that."

"He might not kill you but he'll be disappointed in you." Charlie Crowe cut in. "Imagine having Harry Potter disappointed in you." He winced, shaking his head. "No one will be able to handle that."

"He's not Merlin, Charlie, so stop acting like he is." Duncan said as he shot his friend a look that said 'man, get a grip.'

"But he saved the wizarding world!" Charlie exclaimed, as if that made his obsession more acceptable. He was met with deadpan looks, so he shrunk a little bit and kept silent.

"Charlie's questionable obsession and sexuality aside —"

"Oi!" Charlie protested indignantly, glaring at his best friend. Duncan continued as if he hadn't heard a thing.

"This thing should start really soon." He glanced at his fancy wrist watch. "Yup, a minute before we all move out."

Clair sighed. "Ready to listen to the same speech for sixth year in a row?" She asked, not looking very enthusiastic.

"I'm sure Charlie's been looking forward to it all year." Duncan said with a jaunty grin, nudging his scowling best friend. "Imagine staring at Harry Potter for half an hour. Bet you have dreams about that, mate."

"Stop talking, for Merlin's sake." Patricia cried out, looking disgusted. "I don't want to know about Charlie's dreams at all. Ugh, Almighty Rowena, the images alone.." She gave a great shudder and wrapped her arms around herself.

Charlie rolled his eyes, seemingly unimpressed. "You guys suck."

"Yeah, you wanna suck—"

"Duncan, shut up." Valeria advised. She didn't want to hear the rest of the sentence at all, even though she had a pretty good idea of what the ending was. She shot him a disgusted look but he only grinned and shrugged.

"People are moving!" Clair said suddenly. Valeria craned her neck and true to Clair's words, she saw people slowly exiting through the double doors. "Let's wait for the crowd disperse, yeah?"

They all nodded and waited for most of the people to leave before they moved as well.

"Ow, we're going to be at the back." Charlie complained as they walked outside.

"I'm more concerned about how we're going to walk over there without breaking something or ruining our dresses." Patricia grumbled as she eyed the path in front of her in distaste. Indeed, the walk from the castle to the lake was rocky and uneven, and craftily hidden with streaks of grass.

"You'll cope somehow." Mick said unsympathetically. "C'mon, Val, move it."

They moved across the grounds without any accidents, much to the girls' collective relief. Valeria did clutch on Mick's arm rather tightly, but her cousin said he rather have her try to break his arm than falling about when in his presence and embarrassing him.

Really lovely, that boy.

They stood behind a group of fourth year Slytherins on the right side of the crowd. The marble memorial stone towered over all of them, it was that large and grand, and Valeria's eyes traced all the names, even though she couldn't read them clearly from her place at the back.

"There he is!" Mick said just as the crowd around them burst into whispers. Harry Potter stepped on the platform made specially for the occasion next to the memorial stone. His glasses were slightly askew on his nose, and his hair was just as messy as last time they had seen him standing there. He smiled warmly at them, almost welcoming, as if he was inviting them for a chat and tea in his home. Hermione and Ron Weasley stood closely by his side, their faces plastered in the same welcoming expression as him. They always had a thing or two to say, and most of the time whatever Ron Weasley said made them smile and break the tension that Harry Potter's solemn speech had created.

"Hello." Harry Potter spoke, his voice magically amplified. Valeria saw Potter standing at the front of the crowd, his chest puffed up as he gazed up at his father with admiration. She stifled a chuckle. Normally the sight of him looking so proud and pleased with himself would annoy her but the nearly worshipping look he was giving his father ruined the usual irritating effect. Harry Potter's little clone was standing just before Valeria, nearly as tall as her thanks to his wild hair. He was blinking owlishly at his father behind his hipster glasses, his arms crossed across his chest. He didn't seem nearly as impressed as his older brother, but then again, Al Potter rarely seemed impressed with anything. "Thank you all for coming today. My name is Harry Potter, but many of you already know that." He chuckled and rubbed his neck. He glanced at his friends, and Valeria saw Hermione Weasley giving him an encouraging nod.

"As you may know, today is a day of mourning. Mourning the people — the heroes — who sacrificed their lives so we can live in the safety and comfort we do today. I admit it's hard for me to stand here every year and talk about all the people who had lost their lives fighting against Voldemort. Amongst those people is my family and close friends — your family and close friends — and there aren't words that can help me express all the gratitude and sadness I feel every day, especially on this date." He swallowed and smiled, but his smile was empty of feeling, his brilliant eyes faraway from them. "For many of you it's hard to imagine the years of terror during Voldemorts reign, many of you don't understand the feeling of desperation and at times empty hope. I don't mean to patronize any of you — in fact, I am glad that you haven't and hopefully wouldn't, have to go through what I and the people during those dark times went through."

"But you still need to learn and know about the Wizarding Wars, the battle that took place on this very grounds and all those others battles that were left unmentioned in the press. You may think of this ceremony as something that you're required to do before the real fun begins, and I wouldn't blame you for that. But the Ministry and the Hogwarts' staff had granted me with the honour of enlightening you, and helping you to develop a sense of respect towards the people who had sacrificed everything for your safety."

And on it went. Valeria felt great respect, appreciation and all, but it was rather hard to concentrate when you were perched on four inch heels on an uneven ground with the hot afternoon sun shining brightly over you.

"Thank you all for your attention." Harry Potter finished with a rather bashful smile and stepped aside. Everyone burst into tremulous applause and Valeria joined them. Harry Potter continued to smile his bashful smile and Valeria was left to marvel on just how he could be so humble and have such a bigheaded prat for a son.

Ron Weasley took the stage and shot them all a cheerful grin, his red hair looking even brighter under the sunshine. "Hello, folks. Thank you all for coming here today. Harry has the uncanny ability to make everyone feel like they're about to go on the battlefield." Here he shot his best friend a mock stern look. The crowd laughed. "But I guess that comes with the whole Savior of the Wizarding World he has going on. He's been through a lot, you know." The crowd broke into chuckles again. "Anyway, I'm sorry to say that my speech today will be entirely selfish and focused on my family." He grinned, his eyes scanning the crowd. "There's my Rosie over there!" He called jovially, his voice raising slightly. All eyes zeroed on the red hair girl, whose wild hair was for once tamed into an elegant up do. Her freckled cheeks flushed deep red and she shot her father a mortified look.

"Do you know why I told my daughter just before she boarded on the Hogwarts Express for the first time?" Valeria smiled a little when she saw Rose mouth 'ohmygod' to herself and bury her flushed face in her hands. "I told her to beat the Malfoy spawn in every subject she could. And do you know what my little girl did? She went and did it! Suck it, Malfoy. My kid's smarter than yours. Not that it's much of a surprise, given who her mother is. Hermione Weasley, gals and gents, the smartest witch of her generation." He gestured to his wife, who stood beside him, her expression a mixture of annoyance and amusement with a touch of exasperation. "The most beautiful too." He added, grinning when his wife's cheeks went a little pink. "But I'm getting off track here. I was talking about my brilliant daughter and ferret junior."

The blonde boy next to Al Potter shifted slightly, throwing his best friend a displeased look. Al shrugged, his face impassive.

"Ferret Senior should be around her somewhere, can't miss the chance of getting his ugly, albino mug photographed —"

"Ronald!" His wife snapped sternly, all amusement clearing off her face.

"What, Hermione? I was told to be as truthful as possible." His cheerful grin faded a little when his wife's fingers twitched towards the pocket of her robes. "But enough about Malfoy, now. Let's get serious." He cleared his throat and stood straight. "On this date, many people lost their lives, as Harry told you earlier. Some of them were my friends, one of them my brother. My speech wouldn't be nearly as moving as Harry's, I think, but what I'm about to say, comes straight from my heart. So here it comes. If you love someone, show it to them. Never let them feel inferior and neglected. Your family, your friends, your girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/husband/partner/whatever you have, they are everything that matters in the world. Losing one of them causes unimaginable pain. The relationships and friendships we have with people are what makes us human. Voldemort didn't have any of that, and maybe that's why he turned out to be such a nutter. So, remember kids, appreciate every moment you have with your loved ones, because you never know if that moment might be your last."

There was a moment of solemn silence as they all stared at Ron Weasley's unusually serious face. Then his face split into a grin again. "Oi, Hugo, congratulations on getting on the Quidditch Team! I knew you could do it, mate!"

With that being said, he stepped back and allowed his wife to step forward. She waited for the applause for her husband to subside and smiled at all of them. "I don't have much time to speak, I'm afraid. Once Harry and Ron go off, they can continue for hours. Thank Goodness we're not talking about Quidditch." The crowd chuckled, and Valeria saw Harry and Ron exchange fond looks. "There isn't much I can say. My boys have said it all. When he was alive, Professor Albus Dumbledore lived by single, simple motto; love is the greatest weapon anyone could have. It wins against all evil, it is what helped us win against Voldemort. So remember that, remember all the wise words spoken by this brilliant wizard, and remember not to take what you have for granted."


End file.
